ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Optimum design of B-series marine propellers

M.M. Gaafary
*
, H.S. El-Kilani, M.M. Moustafa
Naval Architecture and Marine Eng. Dept., Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University, Egypt
Received 19 December 2009; accepted 24 July 2010
Available online 5 March 2011
KEYWORDS
Optimization;
Single objective;
B-Series propeller
Abstract The choice of an optimum marine propeller is one of the most important problems in
naval architecture. This problem can be handled using the propeller series diagrams or regression
polynomials. This paper introduces a procedure to nd out the optimum characteristics of B-series
marine propellers. The propeller design process is performed as a single objective function subjected
to constraints imposed by cavitation, material strength and required propeller thrust. Although
optimization software of commercial type can be adopted to solve the problem, the computer pro-
gram that has been specially developed for this task may be more useful for its exibility and pos-
sibility to be incorporated, as a subroutine, with the complex ship design process.
2011 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Naval architects can easily design an optimized propeller with
the theoretical propeller design methods (lifting-line/surface
theories) using a computer without the geometry constraints
seen in series propellers [1]. However, series propellers are still
valuable; they are still widely used in the preliminary design of
light or moderately loaded propellers [2]. Moreover, for those
who cannot afford lifting surface software, traditional series
propellers are good choices. Among the propeller series, the
B-series is one of the commonly used series.
In this study, a computer program has been specially devel-
oped to nd the optimum characteristics of any B-series pro-
peller. The propeller design process is handled as a single
objective function subjected to several constraints such as cav-
itation, material strength and the required propeller thrust.
2. Optimization problem
The main difculty in most optimization problems does not lie
in the mathematics or methods involved. It lies in formulating
the objective all the constraints.
The propeller design problem has been handled as a multi-
objective constrained optimization problem [14]. There are
two principal ways to handle multi-objective problems, both
leading to single objective optimization problems [5]:
one objective is selected and the other objectives are formu-
lated as constraints.
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hebaelkilani@gmail.com (M.M. Gaafary).
1110-0168 2011 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University.
Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria
University.
doi:10.1016/j.aej.2011.01.001
Production and hosting by Elsevier
Alexandria Engineering Journal (2011) 50, 1318
Alexandria University
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a weighted sum of all objectives forms the optimization
objective function.
The rather arbitrary choice of weight factors makes the
optimization model obscure and the rst option is mostly
preferred [5]. In this study, the propeller design problem is han-
dled as a constrained optimization problem according to the
rst option.
Any constrained optimization problem can be handled
according to the optimization model shown in Fig. 1.
This optimization problem can be formulated as follows [6]:
Find X
x
1
x
2
.
.
.
x
m
_

_
_

_
1
which maximizes an objective function called f(X) subjected to
the following constraints:
g
j
X 6 0; j 1; 2; . . . ; q
and

j
X 0; j q 1; q 2; . . . ; p
_

_
2
where, g
j
(X) and
j
(X) are the inequality and the equality con-
straints, respectively.
3. B-series propeller
B-series propellers were developed in the Netherlands Ship
Model Basin, and the section of the blade was improved later.
For any B-series propeller, the thrust and torque coefcients
can be expressed as functions of the blade number (Z), blade
Nomenclature
A
E
propeller expanded area, m
2
A
O
propeller disk area, m
2
C
0.75R
blade chord length at 0.75R, m
C
mi
regression coefcient of torque coefcient
C
si
regression coefcient of thrust coefcient
D propeller diameter, m
H
PAP
height of propeller aperture, m
J advance coefcient
K
Q
torque coefcient
K
T
thrust coefcient
N propeller rotating speed, rpm N = 60 \ n
N
P
number of propellers
n propeller rotating speed, rps
M number of the design variables
P propeller blade pitch, m
P
CL
propeller immersion, m
P
D
developed power, kW
P
S
shaft power per blade, kW
P
O
static pressure at the centerline of the propeller
shaft, Pa
P
V
vapor pressure, Pa
P total number of constraints
q number of inequality constraints
Rn Reynolds number
R
T
ship total resistance, N
S
C
maximum allowable stress of the propeller
material, MPa
si exponent of (J) in K
T
equation
si
0
exponent of (J) in K
Q
equation
T propeller thrust, N
T
Cal
calculated propeller thrust, N
T
R
required propeller thrust, N
T propeller blade thickness, m
t
d
thrust deduction
ti exponent of (P/D) in K
T
equation
ti
0
exponent of (P/D)in K
Q
equation
t
min
minimum thickness of propeller blade, m
ui exponent of A
E
/A
O
in K
T
equation
ui
0
exponent of A
E
/A
O
in K
Q
equation
V
A
speed of advance, m/sec
V
S
ship speed, m/sec
Vi exponent of Z in K
T
equation
Vi
0
exponent of Z in K
Q
equation
w wake fraction
Z number of propeller blades
DK
Q
correction of torque coefcient
DK
T
correction of thrust coefcient
g propeller efciency
g
max
maximum propeller efciency
q water density, kg
m
/m
3
m water kinematic viscosity, m
2
/s
Start
New Design
Feasibility Check of the Design
Objective Function Evaluation
Analysis of the results
Optimum
Design Reached
No
Yes
End
Figure 1 Optimization model for constrained problems.
14 M.M. Gaafary et al.
area ratio (A
E
/A
O
), pitch ratio (P/D), and advance coefcient
(J) as follows:
K
T

39
i1
C
si
J
si
P
D
_ _
ti
A
E
A
O
_ _
ui
Z
vi
3
and,
K
Q

47
i1
C
mi
J
si
0 P
D
_ _
ti
0 _
A
E
A
O
_
ui
0
Z
vi
0
4
where, C
si
and C
mi
are the regression coefcients of the thrust
and torque coefcients, respectively. The values of the coef-
cients and exponents involved in Eqs. (3) and (4) are given in [7].
If Reynolds number of a propeller at 0.75R is greater than
2 \ 10
6
, corrections to the thrust and torque coefcients must
be taken into consideration [1].
Rn
0:75R

C
0:75R

V
2
A
0:75p n D
2

_
m
5
where, C
0.75R
is the blade chord length at 0.75R and V
A
is the
advance velocity (m/s).
3.1. Objective function
The most common objective function, for the optimum marine
propellers, is the propeller maximum efciency (g
max
) [8]. The
efciency of marine propellers can be computed as follows:
g
J
2p

K
T
K
Q
6
3.2. Constraints
3.2.1. Cavitation constraint
Cavitation could affect a propellers performance and needs to
be considered in the propeller design process. A simple way to
avoid cavitation is to increase blade area ratio. The minimum
blade area ratio required to avoid cavitation was suggested by
Keller [1] as follows:
A
E
A
O
_ _
min

1:3 0:3ZT
P
O
P
V
D
2
K 7
where, (A
E
/A
O
)
min
is the minimum expanded area ratio. The
coefcient K equals 0.1 for twin-screws ships, and 0.2 for sin-
gle-screw ships.
3.2.2. Strength constraint
To achieve adequate blade thickness and thus ensure material
strength, the following formula can be used to determine the
minimum ratio of blade thickness at 0.7R to the diameter [4]:
t
min
D
_ _
0:7R
0:0028 0:21

3183:87 1508:15P=DP
S
1266652:04nD
3
S
C
20:9D
2
n
2

8
where, (t
min
/D)
0.7R
is the minimum propeller blade thickness
ratio at 0.7R.
According to the B-series propeller geometry [7], the ratio
of maximum thickness of propeller blade at each section to
the propeller diameter is given as shown in Table 1.
As shown in table 1, the ratio of maximum thickness of pro-
peller blade at 0.7R to the diameter is given as follows:
t
D
_ _
0:7R

0:0171 for Z 3
0:0156 for Z 4
0:0141 for Z 5
_

_
9
Using Eq. (8) and the geometry of B-series propellers, the
required propeller blade thickness can be obtained as follows:
t
D
_ _
0:7R
P
t
min
D
_ _
0:7R
10
3.2.3. Thrust constraint
The calculated propeller thrust (T
Cal
) must be equal to the re-
quired thrust (T
R
). The propeller thrust can be calculated as
follows:
T
CAL
K
T
q n
2
D
4
11
T
R

R
T
N
P
1 t
d

12
where, R
T
is the ship total resistance, N
P
is the number of pro-
pellers and t
d
is the thrust deduction.
4. Developed computer program
A computer program has been specially developed to nd the
optimum characteristics of any B-series propellers. This pro-
gram starts with an initial feasible point and proceeds towards
the optimum point according to the steps shown in Fig. 1. The
detailed procedure of this program is summarized in the ow
chart shown in Fig. 2.
5. Case study
The problem is to nd the optimum characteristics (D, A
E
/A
O
,
P/D, J) of four bladed B-type propeller of a twin screw ship.
The propeller diameter (D) is restricted at specied value to
suit the ship lines and to provide acceptable hull clearances
to avoid hull vibration. Ship speed (V
S
) and corresponding
resistance (R
T
) are given for this design condition. Wake frac-
tion (w) and thrust deduction (t
d
) are given for this design con-
dition. This problem can be formulated as follows:
Table 1 Maximum blade thickness % of D for B-series
propellers.
r/R Max. blade thickness (% of D)
Z = 3 Z = 4 Z = 5
0.2 4.06 3.66 3.26
0.3 3.59 3.24 2.89
0.4 3.12 2.82 2.52
0.5 2.65 2.40 2.15
0.6 2.18 1.98 1.78
0.7 1.71 1.56 1.41
0.8 1.24 1.14 1.04
0.9 0.77 0.72 0.67
1.0 0.30 0.30 0.30
Optimum design of B-series marine propellers 15
Figure 2 Flow chart for B-series marine propellers design process.
16 M.M. Gaafary et al.
Use the input data which are shown in Table 2 to nd
(D, A
E
/A
O
, P/D, J) which maximize the propeller efciency
(g) when subjected to the following constraints:
Cavitation constraint: the expanded area ratio should be
larger than a minimum value in order to avoid cavita-
tion, (A
E
/A
O
) P(A
E
/A
O
)
min
where (A
E
/A
O
)
min
can be
calculated using Eq. (7).
Thrust constraint: the calculated propeller thrust (T
cal
)
has to match the design requirement, as follows:
T
cal
= T
required
.
Strength constraint: to ensure adequate material
strength, a minimum propeller blade thickness is
required, as shown in Eq. (8).
t
D
_ _
0:7R
>
t
min
D
_ _
0:7R
Boundary constraint: to obtain an optimum design
point, the design variables must lie in an acceptable
domain.
In this part, the problem under consideration is carried out
in details by using the following techniques:
Using the developed computer program.
Using a commercial software (Lingo).
Table 2 Input data.
Ship total resistance (R
T
) 35000.0
Ship speed (V
S
) 10.289
Number of propellers (N
P
) 2
Number of propeller blades (Z) 4
Height of propeller aperture (H
PAP
) 1.25
Propeller immersion (P
CL
) 2.0
Wake fraction (w) 0.20
Thrust deduction (t
d
) 0.15
Max. allowable stress of propeller material (S
C
) 260
Boundary constraint
Design variable Lower Limit Upper Limit
Propeller diameter (D) 0.25 0.8 \ H
PAP
Area ratio (A
E
/A
O
) 0.35 0.85
Pitch ratio (P/D) 0.7 1.5
Advance coe. (J) 0.3 1.5
Figure 3 Output results of the developed computer program.
Figure 4 Open water diagram.
Figure 5 Output results of Lingo software.
Optimum design of B-series marine propellers 17
5.1. Using the developed computer program
The data which are shown in Table 2 are used to perform the
problem under consideration by using the developed computer
program. The output results of this program are shown in
Fig. 3.
The obtained optimum point is plotted on the open water
diagram for this design condition as shown in Fig. 4.
5.2. Using a commercial software (Lingo)
Lingo [9] is a comprehensive tool designed to make building
and solving linear, nonlinear and integer optimization models.
The problem under consideration is recalculated using LINGO
software [9] and the output results are shown in Fig. 5.
5.3. Analysis of the results
The output results obtained by the presented solutions are
shown in Table 3. It is clear that, the output results of Lingo
software are found in a good agreement with those obtained
by the developed program.
6. Conclusions
The design process of a series propeller by traditional calcu-
lation or chart methods is a tedious job due to the multiple
parameters and constraints involved.
To handle the multi-objective constrained problem of the
propeller design, one objective is selected and the other
objectives are formulated as constraints.
The developed computer program represents a tailored and
simple tool to nd the optimum characteristics of any B-ser-
ies marine propeller. It is more exible to use it as a subrou-
tine in global ship design problems than to use commercial
optimization
software.
References
[1] C. Jeng-Horng, S. Yu-Shan, Basic design of a series propeller
with vibration consideration by genetic algorithm, J. Mar. Sci.
Technol. 12 (2007) 119129.
[2] E. Benini, Multi-objective design optimization of B-screw series
propellers using evolutionary algorithm design, J. Mar. Sci.
Technol. 40 (2003) 229238.
[3] J.-B. Suen, J.-S. Kouj, Genetic algorithm for optimal series
propeller design, in: Proceeding of the Third International
Conference on Marine Technology, ORDA 99, Poland, 1999.
[4] M.M. Karim, M. Ikehata, A genetic algorithm (GA)-based
optimization technique for the design of marine propeller, in:
Proceeding of the Propeller/Shafting Symposium, Virginia Beach,
USA, 2000.
[5] H. Schneekluth, V. Bertram, Ship Design for Efciency and
Economy, Butterworth, Heinemann, 1998.
[6] S.S. Rao, Optimization Theory and Applications, second ed.,
Wiley Estern Limited, India, 1991.
[7] M.W.C. Oosterveld, V. Oossanen, Further Computer Analyzed
Data of The Wageningen B-series, I.S.P., vol. 23, July 1975.
[8] M.M. Gaafary, Computerized method for propeller design of
optimum diameter and rpm, in: 13th Congress of IMAM,
Istanbul, Turkey, October 2009.
[9] Lindo Systems Inc., Lingo Software, Version (9), <http://
www.lindo.com/>, April 2006.
Table 3 Output results.
Items Developed program Lingo
Objective: g
max.
0.620 0.62013
Design variables
D 1.00 1.00
A
E
/A
O
0.546 0.54456
P/D 1.075 1.082
J 0.78 0.784
[n] RPS 10.57 10.497
Coecients
K
T
0.1809 0.1823
K
Q
0.0362 0.0367
Power in kwatt
P
D
546.66 546.548
P
D
(Blade) 68.33 68.318
18 M.M. Gaafary et al.